ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for 1 John 2

1 John 2:1 My little children. This way of addressing his readers shows John’s great love for them (see also vv. 12; 28; 3:7; 18; 4:4; 5:21). may not sin. See note on 3:9–10. Jesus is an advocate. He takes up the believer’s cause before God the Father (see 1 Tim. 2:5). Otherwise their sin would bring judgment upon them.

1 John 2:2 Propitiation means “a sacrifice that bears God’s wrath and turns it to favor” (see note on Rom. 3:25). As the perfect sacrifice for sin, Jesus turns away God’s wrath (see also 1 John 4:10). For the sins of the whole world does not mean every person will be saved. John clearly teaches that God forgives only those who repent and believe the gospel (see 2:4; 23; 3:10; 5:12; compare John 3:18; 5:24). But Jesus’ sacrifice is available to anyone who does this.

1 John 2:3 by this we know. Assurance of salvation is possible (see note on 2 Pet. 1:10). First John mentions several tests that give assurance (see 1 John 1:7; 2:5; 3:14; 4:13; 5:2). Here the test is ethical: do professing Christians have a changed life and keep the Lord’s commandments? To know him involves a personal relationship that changes one’s behavior.

1 John 2:5 love of God is perfected. This love is not only a feeling. It is also an ethical response (keeps his word). may know. See note on v. 3.

1 John 2:6 walk in the same way. Believers can imitate Christ’s faith, love, devotion, obedience, and selflessness (v. 5).

1 John 2:7–17 The Unchanging Commandment in a Changing World. John emphasizes the love commandment. He then describes the challenge of living as a Christian in a dark world (vv. 8, 9, 11) dominated by “the evil one” (vv. 13, 14).

1 John 2:7 Beloved. A strong term of godly affection for his readers. John uses the same word at 3:2; 21; 4:1; 7; 11. See also note on 2:1, “my little children.” The old commandment is love for God and love for others (Lev. 19:18; Deut. 6:5). Jesus confirmed (Matt. 22:34–40) but also renewed these teachings. Therefore they are also a new commandment (John 13:34).

1 John 2:8 the darkness is passing away. The age to come has not yet fully arrived (see 3:2), but it is getting closer.

1 John 2:9–11 hates his brother. John often uses strongly contrasting terms for emphasis (e.g., light vs. darkness, truth vs. lies). darkness has blinded his eyes. “Darkness” and “blindness” in Scripture often symbolize rejecting God’s truth and continuing in sin (see John 3:19; 12:39–40; 2 Cor. 4:4). On love, see note on John 13:34–35.

1 John 2:12–14 John knows his message is greater than the evil he describes. Some view little children, fathers, and young men as symbolizing the stages of spiritual maturity in a Christian’s life. Others think “little children” refers to all John’s readers (see note on 2:1), while “fathers” refers to older believers and “young men” to newer believers.

1 John 2:15 Do not love the world warns against loving a world system that is opposed to God (compare John 12:31; James 4:4; 1 John 5:19). Love of the Father probably refers both to God’s love for his people and their love for him.

1 John 2:16 all that is in the world. John does not consider the whole created order evil (see Gen. 1:31). Rather, he gives examples of what believers should avoid (desires of the flesh, etc.). Human desires are part of God’s creation. They are evil only when they are expressed in ways for which God did not create them.

1 John 2:17 the world is passing away. History is speeding toward a conclusion planned by God.

1 John 2:18–3:10 Overcoming the Antichrist by Confessing the Son. John describes the challenges Christians face and how these may be met.

1 John 2:18–27 The existence of “antichrist” (v. 18) and those trying to deceive Christians (v. 26) is alarming. But John is confident that they can find the resources to abide in Christ (v. 29).

1 John 2:18 The last hour began with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. His second coming could occur at any time (see notes on 1 Cor. 7:29–31; 2 Tim. 3:1). Antichrist is mentioned with this name here and in 1 John 2:22; 4:3; 2 John 7 (compare 2 Thess. 2:1–10; see note on 2 Thess. 2:3). An “antichrist” is anyone “who denies that Jesus is the Christ” (1 John 2:22). More specifically, John considers such a person to be a representative of the “evil one” (John 17:15).

1 John 2:19 Some people had recently left the church (out from us). Their leaving showed that they were not truly of us. That is, they did not have genuine faith.

1 John 2:20 anointed by the Holy One. Spiritually transformed by the Holy Spirit.

1 John 2:23 Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also (compare 5:13; see note on John 3:18). The world’s religions do not offer many different paths to the one God. Only Christianity confesses that Jesus is God’s Son (see 1 John 4:3; 4:15).

1 John 2:24 what you heard from the beginning. The authentic message of Christ’s death for sin and his defeat of death.

1 John 2:27 anointing. See note on v. 20. This anointing abides, giving Christians the discernment to recognize doctrinal error. no need that anyone should teach you. They have no need for any instruction that differs from the gospel message.

1 John 2:28–3:3 Having reaffirmed his readers’ commitment to the true Son of God, not the Antichrist (vv. 18–27), John urges them to strive for the ethical integrity and sense of urgency appropriate to their spiritual identity.

1 John 2:28 abide in him. See notes on John 8:31; 15:4.

1 John 2:29 To know that he is righteous means the believer has placed his faith in Christ, not in his own moral virtue.